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After delay, Lake Placid board approves fire officers

Chief pleads for help with training courses

LAKE PLACID — After nearly a month’s delay, this village’s Board of Trustees on Monday approved all but one of the officers elected by the volunteer fire department to serve for 2017-18.

At the same meeting, fire Chief Jim Wasson implored the board to help his department meet training requirements by bringing more training courses to the area.

Wasson described trying to get training near Lake Placid as “like pulling teeth through certain organizations.”

“We have talked to a couple of other ones from not Essex County,” the chief said, “but from a different county, to see if they can come in here and to help train. That would help us tremendously because we aren’t getting cooperation.

“Any time we ask for training classes,” he added, “you can go down to the firehouse and it’s on the board down there, and everything is down in the southern part of the county. And we get maybe one (course, and) Keene or Keene Valley’s (fire departments) get one or two. If we get one, it’s a miracle. Can you guys do anything to (help)?”

Mayor Craig Randall, in attendance via video conference, said village officials have had very preliminary discussions with the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control about how training locations are not compatible with the department’s volunteers.

“I think it goes hand in hand,” Trustee Jason Leon said, “the expectation for training and providing the opportunities.”

“We’ve asked for different training, and we can’t get it,” Wasson replied, “so it can’t all be blamed onto this end here.”

“We are going to be your advocate now,” Trustee Peter Holderied said, “where in the past we weren’t involved at all — the mayor and the board.”

The board on Monday approved all but one of the elected officers the fire department recommended in an April 4 letter, before the board rejected them: Wasson as chief, Mike St. Louis as first assistant chief, Matt Wood as second assistant chief, Adam Marshall as first captain and Josh Pellkey as third captain. The department has not yet elected someone to fill the fourth captain position.

The board also decided not to approve the election of Ryan St. Louis as second captain as he is currently on suspension. Randall and Trustee Scott Monroe said the board would consider approving St. Louis once his suspension is complete and he is back as an active line officer, which is scheduled for June 15.

Randall added that the officers agreed to take minimum required courses to meet what is regarded as “post-Sept. 11 standards.” They will have six months rather than a typical year to complete the training, though if an officer has demonstrated progress at the six-month mark without finishing, an extension to a year would be granted.

“If they haven’t started it in six months, they clearly won’t finish it,” Randall said. “I think that’s the thought that we had.”

The mayor, several trustees and fire department members in attendance said improving lines of communication between the village and its officers is imperative.

“It’s been a challenge,” the mayor added, “but I think, speaking for the board, we probably are much more knowledgeable today about the department’s challenges, and I truly believe, in the coming year, we will see some of the concerns the department has, especially with access to training programs — we are going to try to do something to help them with that.”

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